Did the movie Avatar blow your mind? This will too...

Back in 2009, Director James Cameron blew our minds when he created a world that was so beautiful that it made a lot of us dream.

Avatar

In the movie Avatar, Cameron introduced us to the amazing world of Pandora, a world filled with vibrant
colors, incredible flora, luminescent creatures and the indigenous culture of the graceful Na’vi.

Pandora - A Luminescent World

I remember when this movie came out, so many folks dreamed of leaving Earth to live on a world like Pandora, forgetting a few important hazards along
the way such as the deadly atmosphere that harboured vicious creatures such as the titanotheres, the thanators or the viperwolves that would shred you
in minutes. If that wasn’t enough and you survived, chances are you’d end up being a good snack for the toruk, the all mighty giant flying
banshee...

But what if you could see a similar luminescent world, without leaving Earth and without the deadly hazards?

Basically, what most folks dreamed about, in reality, was of the bioluminescence displayed at every corner, in the plants, in the water, on animals
and on the Na’vi themselves.

Not many are aware of the fact that James Cameron consulted exobiologists, botanists and physicists to create the world of Pandora, its very basis for
bioluminescence being found here, on our very own little planet, Earth.

========================================

[align=center][color=gold]The Wonderful World of Bioluminescence[/align]

========================================

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for
"living" and the Latin lumen "light". Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical
reaction in the form of light emission.

Bioluminescence is caused by two factors mainly, the first, the presence of a protein called
Luciferin or, second, the product of marine microbes called
Phytoplankton.

Bioluminescence can be found in different parts of the world such as Puerto Rico, Japan, United States, New Zealand, Wales, Tasmania, Australia,
Malaysia and Brazil.

Bioluminescence is found on living organisms that are earthbound, in caves, on beach shores and the ocean’s deep.

As a picture is said to be worth a thousand words, I will cut short on the blah blah blah and share some awesome pictures that I have found, here and
there, about this phenomenon and that totally blew my mind.

I sure hope it has the same effect on you !! Enjoy !!!

========================================

Pictures of Interest

Gippsland Lakes, Australia

Bioluminescent Jelly Fish

Bioluminescent Squid

Luminescent Fire Fly

Bioluminescent Barreleye Fish

Bioluminescent Ocean

Bioluminescent Mosquito Bay, Japan

Bioluminescent cave, New Zealand

Cave Glow Worms, New Zealand

Bioluminescent Dismal Canyons, North
America

Pretty cool stuff, huh?

========================================

Videos of Interest

For those of you that have viewing capabilities, there are three videos that I would like to share.

The first one is about a minute long and is a reminder of the bioluminescent world of Pandora:

The second is about four minutes long, from National Geographic, and shows that our oceans really glow with light!! :

The third is about five minutes long, was shot in California, and shows a phenomenon called the “Red Tide”, a display of blue-neon waves hitting
the shores of Moonlight beach, in Encinitas:

I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed and that, like me, you are overwhelmed from the surprises that our little blue dot provides. While we search
for life and amazing discoveries throughout our galaxy, often times, the best treasures are found in our own backyard.

I remember back around 2000 when there was talk about the end of the world, being the sceptic and all, I just laughed about it.

Me and some friends went to St Bees one morning (1am?) to play football (that's real football, soccer) because we were bored.

Glenn suddenly looked up and said "what's that?", pointing out towards the sea.

All we could see was a bright blue light dancing back and forth on the horizon, now remember this is in the morning, so it was pitch black and we
could see was where the sea stopped and the sky started.

It was obviously not lightning, It looked like something off Star Trek, you know when they get a powerful energy ribbon in space chasing them down on
the Enterprise (like the nexus off STVI: Generations), and it seemed to be coming closer and closer.

All four of us started feeling a little uneasy, then Glenn and Roberto suddenly started walking towards the shore, me and Benny were like "where the
hell are you going???", "Well if its gonna get us, it's gonna get us", they joked.

So, anyway, me and Benny decided to follow them down, and we started walking across the beach.....suddenly we noticed that whenever we put our feet
down, a bright blue light shot out in every direction, again referring to Star Trek, like when someone touches an invisible force field, it lights up
in a dotty, shimmering pattern....just like that. Weird we thought.

It was at that point we realised the bright blue light dancing about in the sky was in fact the whites of the waves, and we had no idea what it was,
but it was beautiful. That being said, we were also just about a mile away from Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant, so that was slightly
concerning, lmao.

I'm glad I seen it, I admit it scared me a little bit when I didn't know what it was, but upon research it turned out to be just what is being
discussed in the OP, nature is fantastic at times.

I enjoyed both the world in avatar, and the pictures from earth. It also reminds me of what they were trying to accomplish in world of warcraft, the
night elf place. Though need sunshine, and would always prefer to live in semi deserts with oasis's of orchards and lakes and love ponderosa
pines!!! I need light, light shining even on a cloudy or rainy day, because the colors seem more like a transparent water color and not even rain
can block it. Consequently, can't wait to leave this coastal area behind, not into rain forrests!!!!

That's so fascinating, if only I could get the chance to see bioluminescent shores/animals in person.

Now only if we could take it one step further and have a bio-spiritual relationship with the planet via neural connections like the Na'vi did with
their tendril feature (attached to their braided hair).

The Na'vi were extensively in-tune with their surrounding environment and they did not lack a mutually reciprocal relationship with their planet's
flora and fauna. If only WE had that relationship!

Avatar was an enjoyable film. As for dreaming about going to Pandora, it won't be a dream for too long. Instead of literally traversing the galaxy to
visit an alien planet & risk death, we will create similar worlds with computers. Emerging virtual reality, BCIs, sensory simulation & other
technology will be able to put you into the body of a Na'Vi from the comfort of your own home.

The pictures you posted honestly didn't 'blow my mind' either.. probably due to having seen them already, and seeing a photo isn't nearly as
exhilarating as actually being there.

Avatar was awesome...sure the story line might have been ripped off a little (Dancing with the Wolves) but what movie isn't anymore. Seeing that
movie in 3D was truly mind blowing and I can't wait for the 2nd one.

The Above Top Secret Web site is a wholly owned social content community of The Above Network, LLC.

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.